The Rangers farm system has been decimated over the past few years with trades and with promotions to the big leagues. The Rangers do not appear to be poised to start a rebuilding plan for the big-league club, but they do need to rebuild the farm system. They need to find a cornerstone to begin that process, and there is no better place to find one than in the first round of the upcoming draft.
In just about eleven weeks the MLB draft will take place during the weekend before the All-Star game. This year’s draft will begin on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday evening as it has been the last few years. It is never too early to try and get a feel for who the Rangers might select.
This year the draft lottery wasn’t very kind to the Rangers. The Rangers are picking at #16. That makes it a little more difficult to narrow down the choices that the Rangers might consider, but then that just makes the exercise that much more fun.
I like to look at as many mock drafts and top draft prospects boards as I can. The biggest names in that industry are MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN. There are many others out there to look at as well. Some of the ones I have found in the past are not doing any mock drafts this early, but many are. Then there are those who have already done some mocks and boards, but they haven’t updated them in several weeks. Those aren’t of much use, at this point.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Rangers do not always come close to picking what the mocks and boards suggest they should pick. It seems they tend to stray from the industry suggestions earlier than most teams do. Last year the Rangers selected Gavin Fien with the #12 pick even though a lot of mocks and boards didn’t think Fien would go until at least the low-twenties. Some even had him in the mid-twenties. Personally, I am hoping they do just that this year, but more about that later.
In looking at the various sources of information, I have come up with ten names to consider as possible first round picks by the Rangers at #16. To begin with, there are some names to eliminate. There appears to be ten draft prospects who are almost certain to be off the board when the Rangers pick in the first round. There is also one more draft prospect who has a high probability to already be taken by the time the Rangers pick comes up.
Off the Board
Roch Cholowsky, SS UCLA
Grady Emerson, SS Fort Worth Christian (TX)
Vahn Lackey, C Georgia Tech
Jackson Flora, RHP UC Santa Barbara
Eric Booth Jr., CF Oak Grove (MS)
Justin Lebron, SS Alabama
Jacob Lombard, SS Gulliver Prep (FL)
AJ Gracia, CF Virginia
Ace Reese, 3B Mississippi State
Chris Hacopian, SS Texas A&M
Probably Off the Board
Ryder Helfrick, C Arkansas
After eliminating those eleven players I have come up with nine guys who have either been mocked to be picked by the Rangers at #16, or who have been placed in the 11 to 20 range on some of the draft boards.
Nine Most Likely to be Picked by the Rangers at #16
Gio Rojas, LHP Stoneman Douglas (FL)
Carson Boleman, LHP Southland Christian (SC)
Cameron Flukey RHP Coastal Carolina
Sawyer Strosnider, RF TCU
Drew Burress, CF Georgia Tech
Eric Becker, SS Virginia
Logan Reddemann, RHP UCLA
Derek Curiel, CF LSU
Tyler Bell, SS Kentucky
Those nine draft prospects make up the group most likely to be taken by the Rangers with their first pick in the draft this July. The list includes four pitchers, three outfielders, and two shortstops. It includes two high school prospects and seven college prospects. Both high school prospects are pitchers, and both are left-handed. If I had to pick my favorite of those nine guys it would probably be Sawyer Strosnider, the RF from TCU, but all of them would probably be good picks.
There is one draft prospect who none of the rankers have in the top 20, at this point, who I really like. He is high school catcher, Will Brick. He attends Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the top catcher in the high school ranks by just about everyone’s evaluation. He was originally in the 2027 class. He reclassified to be drafted a year earlier by accelerating his academic workload.
Just Baseball says Brick “is a guaranteed lock to stay behind the plate long-term.” They praise his explosiveness out of the crouch, his catch-and-throw skills and his lateral mobility. Their report on Brick goes on to say, “His arm is powerful and accurate, with excellent pop times in games and the ability to throw out runners from his knees with ease.’ Baseball America has called him, “one of the best catchers in the country.”
This season has been a great season for Brick, offensively. He is slashing .569/.662/.882/.1.544. Last October he played for Team USA at the 18-and-under World Cup in Japan. He hit .333 at the World Cup and was the second-youngest player on the team.
At one point, last November, Perfect Game mocked Will Brick to the Rangers at #16. No ranking service has had him that high since. He is one guy that I don’t mind the Rangers appearing to reach for in the first round. Baseball America’s report on Brick says, “he ‘earns high praise for the intangibles and leadership skills that managers and coaches love having in a catcher.”
Our minor league system has fallen on hard times of late and has been ranked very low by many. It is time to start building it back to where it needs to be. Will Brick could very well be the cornerstone in that rebuilding process. He has great defensive skills, great offensive skills, and great intangibles and leadership skills. What more could you ask for in the first round?